Exercise Your Chompers In Obama Land
The city of Chicago has been making news headlines in recent times. The reason for its new found fame is its association with the current President of the USA, President Barack Obama. President Obama, who is the first African-American to hold this post, spent many years working and teaching in the city of Chicago which is also known as the Windy City. He was based in Chicago during the three terms that he served as an Illinois Senator and continued to live and work there until he was elected to the post of the US President in November 2008. This monumental event evoked much interest all over the world so much so that sightseeing tours in Chicago now concentrate on sites that are associated with the President as people are intensely curious about this 44th President of the USA. Many of the sites that these tours visit also include the various Chicago restaurants that were frequented by the President when he lived there.
In fact, this large Midwestern city has long been associated with great foods. Certain popular treats like Italian beef (roast beef) and the Deep Dish Pizza were actually invented in Chicago. Other famous Chicago foods include the Chicago style hot dog which is a boiled or steamed all beef hot dog that was invented in Chicago during the depression era at its famous Maxwell Street Market, Polish Sandwiches, Chicago Steaks and Chicago style Barbecue foods.
If you have only heard of Chicago’s rich culinary heritage and have always wanted to sample these mouthwatering delights, you should perhaps plan to attend the upcoming Taste of Chicago 2009. Taste of Chicago is one of the biggest annual events in Chicago and the world’s largest outdoor food festival which has been known to attract more than six million people every year. This year this foodie extravaganza is to be held from Friday 26th June to Sunday, 5th July.
Location, Location
This culinary safari will take place in one of the prettiest parks in Chicago called Grant Park. The festival will be hosted in the area of the park that lies between Monroe Avenue and Balbo Drive and Michigan Avenue and Lake Shore Drive. Grant Park, which is also known as Chicago’s front yard, is an extremely convenient location for it can be easily accessed via public transport. Moreover, the park is a prominent landmark in Chicago, as it is the site of three world class museums namely the Art Institute, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Shedd Aquarium. Grant Park also houses the Petrillo Music Shell, which was originally designed for the use of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, but is today the site of a number of music performances which provide much entertainment to the many festival goers.
History
The origin of this grand food fest can be traced to 1980, when a group of local Chicago restaurateurs approached the Mayor of Chicago with the idea of holding a food festival as a celebration of the Fourth of July (American Independence) holiday. The first Taste of Chicago was held at Michigan Avenue on the banks of the Chicago River. This inaugural festival was a runaway success that attracted more than 250,000 people and it soon came to be established as Chicago’s most celebrated event.
Tickets and admission
Admission to the festival is free, but in order to sample the wide variety of foods on offer, you have to purchase festival tickets. These festival tickets are sold in strips of 12 for $8. Entrée sized items will cost you ten tickets while smaller samplers can be had for half the strip. Moreover, the many participating Chicago restaurants offer a ‘taste’ portion of their signature dishes which cost only 2-3 tickets. More than 70 Chicago restaurants and other food vendors take part in this grand gastronomic event every year which offers nearly three hundred different kinds of foods. One upscale Chicago restaurant occupies the Gourmet Pavilion daily and offers attendees a taste of its signature dishes.
Entertainment
Over the years, the Taste of Chicago has evolved from a mere food festival to an event which seems to emphasize on family fun. Accordingly, the festivals organizers put together many events for the festival goers like free music concerts which feature many local and international acts, cooking demonstrations and amusements and rides which cater to the children attending the fair.
Big Bang
Since the festival is generally held over the Fourth of July weekend, it also includes a huge firework display which traditionally takes place on the eve of the Fourth of July. This display is usually preceded by performance by the Grant Park Orchestra at the Petrillo Music Shell. This firework display has been known to attract a million people. For information about the firework display and other special events at this year’s Taste of Chicago, please visit the official website of the Taste of Chicago.
If this post has got you salivating for a taste of Chicago and you are now planning to attend this food fest, then perhaps you might want to check out the many accommodation options that you have in the city of Chicago. Like any big urban center, Chicago has a wide variety of hotels to suit every budget, like the five star rated Swissotel Chicago Hotel which is located on Michigan Avenue. Though your accommodation options in the windy city also include more modest and wallet friendly hotels like the Amalfi Hotel and Chicago Hilton Hotel, both of which are located in the center of the city and provide easy access to the location of this immensely appetizing food festival.
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 at 8:46 am and is filed under Festival, Food, North America. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
June 10th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
hmm..obama land, I will Exercise my Chompers in there
June 10th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
I’m hungry all of a sudden. LOL
This is a really good insight on one of the biggest events in Chicago.
-Terry